My use of a Windows machine, an iPhone and an iPad (W+i^2)
I currently own an iPhone and iPad. I owned a MacBook Pro, but sold it. I'm a Windows user and can't make the switch. The keyboard is different, and i'm not willing to learn all the ins and outs of the Mac world. The iPhone and iPad (i^2) makes me feel less tied to a desk, monitor; very mobile. My company did pickup the tab for my iPad and my original iPhone. My company also has MS Exchange. i^2 and MS Exchange work well since Apple got a license for Microsoft Active Sync. I check email accounts from my Windows computer, and i^2.
The iPad did become a paperweight VERY quickly. The onboard keyboard is nice, but found it sloggish compared to a regular keyboard. Then, the iPad became really useful when my wife gave me a Kensington KeyFolio for Valentine's day. It's a nice leather case with a bluetooth keyboard. It's very light-weight and ready to go into meetings on a moment's notice. It now sits to the left of my keyboard running Pandora in the background while I flip through all of my apps. The F6 key gives me a quick way to jump to the SPOTLIGHT search bar. I did notice that it has a hole where a front-facing camera for the iPad would be. It's taunting me to get the next gen iPad. I can feel the pressure from this KeyFolio! You can look it up on buy.com.
Keeping the Windows computer and i^2 (W+i^2) in sync is another big deal for me. It was a pain to keep notes, tasks, and files in sync even while being disconnected. Evernote is the ideal note-taking (FREE) app from the app store. That helped me keep notes in sync between the 3. It's ideal and highly recommended for people who rely on notes (especially from meetings). I haven't found a good task manager that syncs with everything. I am trying IMExchange 2. It connects to my company's MS Exchange Server and syncs the tasks. DropBox is a great, cloud-based storage app. It gives you 2GB (FREE). I dont put any music, videos or anything that can take up the 2GB. I only put documents (XLSX, DOCX, or PDFs). Dropbox, like Evernote, has an app/installer for just about anything. I dont have a long commute, but if I did I would imagine appreciating files being available in my i^2.
W+i^2 is a great combination. I've even toyed around with TV and TV surfing experience. I was pleasently surprised to find Boxee has a remote control (FREE) in the app store. I did build my own Boxee from an ACER pc, but D-LINK recent came out with their own adaptation of Boxee. I use i^2 as a remote to my TV. Either one turns into a keyboard when i have to search for something on Youtube or any of the other great Boxee apps. I dont see myself using a MBP or MBA to manipulate my Boxee.
In closing, I would highly recommed you get an iPad instead of a MacBood Pro or Air as long as you get some type of keyboard. I recommend the KeyFolio by Kensington. I cant compare with a non-mobile Mac experience, but I certainly have what I need out of a laptop from my iPad. I'm even finding out more of a use from all the apps that is in the Apple App Store. I agree to have your company pay for it and wait for the next generation iPad. Rumor say it is soon to be out. You will certainly find yourself replying to email, taking meeting notes, and managing your work-related (and personal) tasks from you iPad. I'm guessing from a front-facing camera hole in my case that video chat (FaceTime) will be a bigger hit once the iPad gets wind of it.
Enjoy!
Jose
